73. How helping others helps you
Data point of the week
Volunteering is correlated with increased self-esteem, decreased depression, lower overall mortality risk, increased happiness, and higher life satisfaction.
People who have low levels of social interaction experience the greatest benefits from volunteering. However, most people benefit from giving their time to something they care about.
The many benefits of volunteering come from:
Increased social engagement
Making a positive impact or contribution
Gaining a sense of meaning and purpose
Seeing yourself in a more positive light (by doing something of value, we feel more valuable)
Taking action to address something we care about (getting out of inertia and into action reduces helplessness, hopelessness, depression, and anxiety)
Reflection
I’ve gone through spurts of volunteering here and there, but have to admit that—in this current phase of my life—I’m focusing most of my energy on expanding ProjectConnect and building connection.
When I think back over the happiest, most meaningful moments in my life, most of them are when I learn that I’ve had a positive impact. It might be through my work, volunteering, or my relationships … when someone tells me that something I’ve said or done has made a difference, it makes my day (sometimes my week)!
As cheesy as it sounds, the bottom line is, it feels good to do good!
Connection Skill & Action Step: Volunteer
Many people worry about the time volunteering will take, but you can choose to volunteer for an hour or so a week, a half day a month, or whatever works for your schedule. To get the most benefit from volunteering:
Think about activities that you would enjoy and/or causes that you care about.
Choose activities that you’ll do with other people
Consider volunteering with an existing friend or acquaintance. That way you can spend time together and deepen your relationship at the same time as meeting new people and giving back.
Questions (Please share your responses in the comments):
Do you do any volunteer work right now? If so, what do you do and how do you like it? If not, what’s holding you back or getting in the way of volunteering?
